Shangrimla
pocket altimeter-a few footsteps higher than
snowy Mont Blanc, the Alps' highest peak.
We halted in the whipping wind, struck
breathless by the thin, cold air-and the pan
orama! Far below, the cold gray Indus
raging from even loftier sources in nearby
Tibet-coiled through the heartland of
Ladakh, a dun-colored moonscape encircled
ARTICLE AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY
THOMAS J. ABERCROMBIE
FOREIGN EDITORIAL STAFF
by glistening peaks. In narrow valleys watered
by melting glaciers shone occasional patches
of green, oases in a vast Himalayan desert.
Though less exhausting than the climb,
the long descent proved more hazardous. On
a slippery ridge the donkey loaded with my
cameras stumbled toward oblivion. Team
ster Tsering Stobdan, digging in his heels,
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